TEFL- suggest songs to teach children

LadyLee112

Hi guys,
I'm new to this and am really interested in getting some advice from experienced TEFL Teachers. I have completed a TEFL course and I am also a qualified Primary School Teacher but this summer will be the first time I will be teaching English as a foreign language outside of school.

I will be teaching Pre-Int children and the school I will be teaching in wants the children to preform a song at the end of each week. The children are aged 10-12 and I am looking for appropriate modern pop songs with clear simple language.

Does anyone have any suggestions of new songs I could use with the children??

I would really appreciate your help
Thank you!!!

implausible

Well I guess Lady GaGa and whips 'n' chains Rihanna are out then?:) Katy Perry's lyrics aren't the worst suitability-wise e.g. Firework. I used to use songs in class when I did TEFL and the kids used to really enjoy being given the lyrics and filling them words that have been blanked out.

Mods, I think the OP would get more responses over at Teaching & Lecturing.

LadyLee112

Ya I think your right they would be terrible! :P could you imagine the Friday show infront of the parents and the kids rocking it out to Rihanna :P I doubt I'd be teaching there long!! :P

Thanks for the advice though I will look into more songs and love the idea of filling in the blanks to songs, I do that with my 5th class in Irish!

Also if the thread would be more suitable in another forum, would be great if admins could move it, I'm not sure if I can move it myself!

Thanks again for your help!!

L xx

pickarooney

The Tallest Man on Earth has some great tunes with short, simple lines of uncomplicated lyrics.

franc 91

I don't know about using pop songs as I am more used to using folk and traditional with children - 'accumulative' songs and poems are also very useful for memorising, which is very much part of the exercise. Here are a few suggestions on my part -
In a wood there grew a tree and the green leaves grew all around and around etc.
This is the key to the kingdom, in that kingdom there is a city, in that city there is a town etc.
In a dark, dark wood, there's a dark, dark house and in that dark dark house there's a.....
Songs and poems taken from Jelly Pie by Roger McGough and Brian Patten - Bring back the Cat, Embrionic Mega-stars, Potato Clock for example.
Sea shanties are good too -
for example - Stormalong John and Stan Hugill singing - I wish I was a bosun on board a man' o war (Sam's gone away), Haul away Joe and so on
The Animal Boogie, We all go travelling by, The Farmyard Jamboree, Creepy Crawly Calypso - all from Barefoot Books
There are also songs by Leon Rosselson which I like, such as 'Why does it have to be me?' and 'Skin' (CD Questions - Fuse Records) and then there's Benjamin Zephaniah.
So I hope that this will give you a few ideas and that it might encourage others to come up with some more.
Franc
(PS I teach English to French children)

odds_on

Two song that I (now retired) used were:
We're all going to the zoo: Peter, Paul and Mary. Lots of repeat phrases and a catchy tune

Sailing: two artists that I know of - Rod Stewart or Sutherland Brothers. easy tune easy words and phrases.